METAL MARKETS Don’t count copper out: Strauss

Don’t count copper out, delegates to a recent meeting of the American Copper Council in Toronto, were told by a metals marketing field expert.

Simon Strauss, who has an extensive knowledge of the American metals scene and the broad international market and who recently wrote the book Trouble in the Third Kingdom, remains optimistic about the future of copper despite the gloomy statements of others.

A mine over-capacity of copper? That may be, Mr Strauss said, but the situation is not as bad for copper as it is for other metals.

Too much influence by government-owned or -assisted copper operations around the world? Signs are appearing, Mr Strauss said, that the number of such operations is peaking and their influence about to diminish.

Loss of the market to materials substitutes? While recognizing that fibreoptics has reduced copper’s demand in the telecommunications field, Mr Strauss said two areas where copper has made gains are in the building and automobile wiring sectors.

The information explosion, involving the increased use of computers in our daily lives (the automobile is one example), he predicts, will see more copper used.

A slower rate of materials consumption? Three-quarters of the world’s population doesn’t enjoy the same standard of living as the western world, but, he said, if the right formula can be found to raise the developing world’s standard of living, copper should enjoy a growth in sales.

And, Mr Strauss said, there appears to be an ample supply of copper to meet the world’s needs for the foreseeable future, although he concedes there will be temporary periods when existing mine capacity will not increase.